RWBY: Another Beginning
by inxpitter
Summary: Titus Ashkin is not a one for heroics, but when Beacon Academy becomes the experimental stage for faunis/human interaction, he wonders if has the right to make amends at all. Set in the world of RWBY created y Monty Oum, this is a work comprised mainly of OCs. Feedback is encouraged, I like to improve. I would also like to write for Rooster teeth someday.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - Another Beginning

The winds blew lightly as the hover shuttle touched down on the landing pad of Beacon Academy. The sun was shining brightly and the excited students made their way quickly off the transport eager to enter the academy that had produced so many legendary hunters and huntresses before them. While the crowd proceeded to the entrance, Titus emerged timidly from the shuttle.

"Two hours on a flight, and I still couldn't talk to anyone," he muttered to himself. He had made it a goal that he would talk to at least one other person, but the best he had been able to do was to stare out the window, occasionally glancing at the other passengers.

The large doors to the main hall were open and Titus found himself a nice spot in the back so as not to attract attention. He scratched at his shirt collar awkwardly as he waited for the opening ceremony to begin.

"Watch out!"

Titus looked up from the floor just in time for something hard and metallic smack him in the face. He fell to the ground shielding the rest of his body with his arms. When no further attacks came, he tentatively opened his eyes and found a young girl rushing to him. His assailant, a rather large umbrella, lay on the floor.

"I'm so, so sorry!" The young girl apologized as she bowed repeatedly. Her short-cut black hair swayed back and forth as her head moved up and down. Her skin was a caramel color and she was covered with ash streaks. She quickly bent down and picked the umbrella up, holding it tightly in both arms as to retract the arms. "I haven't worked out all the kinks yet, so sometimes it goes off on its own."

"How did…" Titus trailed off, confused.

"It's my own design," the girl quickly explained, now trying to wrap a band around the umbrella's purple fabric to restrain its extending arms. "The branches are all constructed to fire narrow bullets, and to give myself an edge, I installed a dancing feature so it can whirl around shooting on its own. Or at least, I tried to install it. I have honestly no idea what's gone wrong."

"N-no, its fine," Titus said, picking himself off the ground. "Accidents happen."

There was a beat as Titus watched her continue to struggle against her weapon. He decided to take a chance.

"Um, I-I'm Titus by the way," he said offering a hand. "Titus Ashkin."

"Oh, I'm Silvia Boltsmith," she said smiling as she clasping his hand warmly, "Nice to meet you."

The umbrella took that chance to expand against the hold of her other arm and whirl out the door. There were murmurs among the crowd that had been drawn in by the stray umbrella.

"She's from THAT Boltsmith family?" one student whispered to another.

"All my ammo is Boltsmith brand," another murmured. "I even have my custom bullets made there."

"I thought the Boltsmith's kids were all ammunition makers," a third student remarked. "I didn't know they had a daughter."

As the crowd started to grow, Titus started to grow more uncomfortable. He shirked back trying to withdraw his hand to find that she hadn't let it go.

"And its gone," she said, seeming a bit annoyed. She gripped his hand tighter and smiled brightly at him. "Do you think you help me track it down?"

"W-Well, I don—"

"Great!" Silvia exclaimed as she ran out the front doors with Titus in tow. "C'mon, I don't think the headmaster will mind if we miss the ceremony to reclaim my rouge Gunbrella."

Titus stammered in protest before flicking his eyes back to the crowd. They stared at him, some amused, some confused.

So many eyes. Titus's heartbeat quickened. His breathing shallowed. His body tensed, even as he was being pulled out the door.

So many eyes, like that night long ago.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Weapon Maintenance

They found the Gatling Gunbrella hovering above the ground in grassy field near the hovercraft landing pad.

"Don't worry," Silvia told Titus, she had let go of his hand at this point. "I didn't have any ammo loaded so it won't fire at us. The hard part is getting close to it; the program will make it keep a constant distance from us. Fortunately, when I wear the control manacle, I can call it back to me."

"So why haven't you used that then?"

"I, uh, dropped it somewhere." Silvia chuckled, a bit of blush entering her cheeks. "I'm not the most organized of my siblings."

"So what do we do?"

"I was thinking a pincer attack. With your help, we can chase it into a corner and I can grab it. It hasn't been outfitted for flight so the most it'll do is stay trapped in the corner."

"Alright, let's get this done and get back before the teachers find out we're gone."

"Don't worry," Silvia repeated, a confident look in her eye, "It won't even take five minutes."

An hour later, they had finally managed to corner the spinning Gunbrella at a corner made of stone walls. They were both covered with grass stains and dirt smudges, and it didn't help Titus's mood that Silvia was getting more and more pleased with her programming job.

"I did a great job on the evasion programming:" she would remark as Titus spat grass out of his teeth from another unsuccessful attempt.

However, with concrete in play, Titus wasn't looking forward to possibility of bloody knees. He started to wonder if he should have opted for more protective battle gear rather than rely on his aura all the time.

"Just a bit closer," Sylvia whispered as they inched closer.

"There's no real reason to whisper you know," he replied quietly.

"Shhh." Sylvia's smile gave away she was having a great time at the moment. They crept nearer to the target.

"Gotcha!" Sylvia cried as she tackled the Gunbrella sideways. Titus rushed to her with the restraining straps. After a few minutes of fumbling, they managed to completely restrain the weapon.

"Finally," Sylvia proclaimed as she sat down, leaning against the cold stone wall. Titus followed suit, also exhausted with the endeavor.

"So we missed the ceremony," Titus remarked, brushing a pieces of grass from his pants. It wasn't that important to him, in fact the thought of reentering the hall and drawing all that attention made him a bit squeamish.

"Yeah, sorry." Silvia leaned her head back, resting it against the wall. "But sometime it's nice not to follow regulations, you know?"

"I guess?" They both looked at each other, and started chuckling.

Eventually, they made their way back to the entrance hall which was empty by the time they arrived. A teacher pointed them to their temporary dorms after chastising them for skipping the entrance ceremony.

"So," Titus began, searching for something to talk about. "You're from the Boltsmith family right? The leading supplier of ammunitions to Beacon Academy, right?"

He wasn't sure, but he could have sworn Silvia's ever present smile dipped a bit.

"That's right," she said cheerfully, her face as happy as it always was. "But while my brothers prefer the factories and forge, I never had in interest in making the bullets. I liked shooting them more."

"Well, I'm sure you'll make a great huntress. I mean, you're already accepted to Beacon."

"Thanks, and I'm sure you'll do fine at tomorrow's initiation."

"Oh god," Titus paled a bit. "I completely forgot about that. Do you know what's going to happen?"

"Nah, but it shouldn't be anything me and GG can't handle."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Titus calmed himself. "I mean, what's the most they could do?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Gravity is not your friend

"Aghhhhh!"

The traditional initiation had come at a bit of a surprise to Titus as he now flew thorugh the air screaming at the top of his lungs. It wasn't that he was terrified of heights, but he had a healthy concern for fall damage.

"Titus!"

Silvia waved at him as she sailed by, her control manacle on her wrist. A teacher had returned it to her just before takeoff.

"Calm down and think of something!" she yelled before opening her gunbrella. She immediately slowed and started descending safely to the ground.

Titus, now realizing panic was not a good course of action, slowed his breathing. With a fluid motion, he pulled his two cutlasses from his back. Modified hilts had been added and the top of the blades were converted to firing barrels. The most distinctive was the circular hollowed out ring just above the hilt on each blade.

Activating the blades, the rings began spinning at high speeds. Titus's descent quickened as the air around him thinned, the air accumulating inside the ring engine. Just before he passed the top of the trees, he activated the blades once more as he swung both of them towards the ground. Two massive columns of pressurized air billowed out of each weapon, the resulting air force slowing Titus considerably. He touched down stumbling with the leftover momentum. A large crash followed as several trees fell over in front of him. His weapons allowed him to take in the surrounding air, but moving at that high of a speed pulled in more than Titus was used to handling. His arms had gone partially numb as a result.

A branch snapped behind him.

Titus swung around, switching his blades to ranged mode. The hilts dipped turning the swords into something that resembled a large pistol. The ring engines started spinning again, Titus winced as he struggled to keep his arms raised and fingers on the trigger. He fired a pressurized air bullets at the ground as a warning shot.

"Silvia!?" Titus called out to the forest around him. He desperately hoped it wasn't a Grimm. He needed a few more minutes to recover after using so much power in an air blast. A figure stepped out from behind a tree, their arms raised.

"Easy, easy," the figure said. Their face was hidden by a deep hooded cloak. Judging from her voice and figure, she was male. A student, not a Grimm.

Titus fell back landing on a soft patch of grass, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Nice landing there partner," the stranger commented as he removed his hood. His orange hair was a vibrant color and he flashed a smile as he sat down next to Titus. "What's that thing called anyway?"

"Its name is Twin Lacuna, and what do you mean partner?" Titus asked as rubbed his hands together, trying to speed up his recovery.

"Remember what the Prof said before he flung us into the sky? I'm assuming I'm the first guy you've run into after landing."

"Oh yeah, must've forgot that in the air somewhere. So you are…?"

"Gio Vulcraft at your service," he said with a small bow, a touch of elegance in his gesture, "And you might want to get up. It seems we have some company."

No sooner had he finished his sentence, when two ursine Grimm emerged from the forest stepping into the clearing that Titus had created.

"Need one more minute," Titus said, his fingers twitching as he struggled to grip his Twin Lacuna. "Can you hold them off on your own?"

"Five hundred," Gio stated, smiling calmly at Titus.

"What?"

"That's how much it's gonna cost you if you want my help."

"What!?" Titus asked, dumbfounded. "What happened to being partners!?"

"Yeah, yeah," Gio waved his hand as if brushing the comment aside. "However, I am a warrior comparable to an elite. Think of it as a standard fee for having one of the best at your side."

_For the next four years I'm stuck with this guy?_ Titus thought incredulously. He noticed the Ursine were about to charge. Arguments could come later, surviving took precedence.

"Fine!" Titus conceded, wishing more than ever he had enough strength just to sock Gio in the face. "Just stall them!"

Gio flashed a sly smile. He turned to the oncoming Ursine

"I'll do much more than stall them."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Partner for Hire

Gio stood between Titus and the two Ursine, calmly watching as the Grimm rushed at them. They charged in unison, both roaring as they closed the distance.

The white gloves Gio wore began to glow softly, one purple and the other cyan. He raised his arms, his palms facing the oncoming enemies.

It happened in an instant. As the Ursa in front swung its paw, Gio took a step forward entering its immediate area. He grabbed the Ursa's arm and side. Turning his body quickly, he guided its momentum away from Titus. The Ursa landed against the far tree, frozen solid. The cyan glow from Gio's right glove intensified slightly.

"Behind you!"

The second Ursa had already leapt on top of Gio before he could turn around. Titus rose to his feet with a gust of air and dashed to his partner. The rings engines had already begun spinning as he hit the Ursa with a cross guard. Activating both engines again, the resulting blast of compressed air was enough to stagger the Ursa. Gio, seeing an opening thrust both palms onto the Ursa's chest. There was a flash of light and the Ursa collapsed, its fur singed from a sudden burst of electricity.

"Ah, thanks," Gio said as he offered a hand to Titus who had fallen after charging the Ursa.

"No problem," Titus replied as he accepted his gesture.

"Forget about that whole payment thing. Sorry, I thought that it'd be easy money becoming a hunter. Probably not the best start for me."

Gio's face reddened as he recounted how brashly he acted just moments before.

"Yeah, don't worry about it."

"We should probably go," Gio suggested. "The noise will have attracted some more Grimm.

"Right, I think the ruins are this way."

They walked at a brisk pace deeper into the forest. Not being able to discern incoming Grimm from other students, Titus kept a hand on one of his sheathed weapons that he kept at his waist.

"So your blades suck up the air from around you for ammunition?" Gio asked, looking for conversation.

"Yeah. When I was flying through the air I was able to get a lot more than usual, but most of the time I can't gather that much."

"Doesn't it get hard to breathe?"

"If I stay in one place, but I move around enough to get a breath here and there. I can move faster too, since the air resistance thins."

The sounds of the forest filled the silence as they progressed.

"What about you?" Titus continued, trying to keep the conversation going. "Your weapon I mean. It uses dust right?"

Gio nodded, pushing a branch out of his way. Now that they weren't in battle, Titus could see they were white fingerless gloves made of a leather fabric. On the back of each glove was a clear compartment, each filled with a compressed mixture of dust crystals.

"I don't have a lot of strength or speed, but I am a bit gifted in dust activation. I compensate my physical abilities with technique, so I should be able to take care of myself."

"What about ranged?"

Gio shrugged.

"Nothing you could really call a bullet, but I get creative."

"If you're hard up for money, why are you using dust? I mean, isn't that stuff really expensive?"

"Beacon helps out mostly. They get contributions from corporations like the Schnee Dust Company and the Boltsmith Conglomerate."

"Really?"

"Yeah, that's probably the only reason I can go to school here. The Schnee Dust Company sends part of it surplus each month, so the specific types of dust varies. As you might have guessed I'm using ice and lightning dust at the moment."

"I would have never guessed," Titus replied, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Do you think this is it?"

Titus and Gio emerged from the dense forest into a clearing where a large ruin lay. There were several pedestals, each with a metallic card.

"This has got to be the place," Gio said affirmatively. "So that must mean these are the relics."

Titus picked up one of the cards, his fingers running over the engraved symbols.

"Jack of Spades work for you?"

"Sounds good."

From the amount of cards left, they had been one of the last groups to find the ruin.

"Heads up!"

Titus and Gio turned towards the shout. From the forest, Silvia and another girl burst into the clearing. Behind them, snarling and trees being torn asunder could be heard.

"Silvia?" Titus asked.

"Hey Titus!" Silvia yelled. "Talk later! Fight now!"


End file.
